&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'Your Parents Teach You to Cheat': Irfan Pathan recalls fierce on-field spat with Sangakkara")
Cricket sledging can get ugly sometimes, and one such instance between two former cricketers – Irfan Pathan and Kumar Sangakkara – was no different. Pathan, who helped India win the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007, was at the receiving end of a spat coming from behind the wickets during a Test between India and Sri Lanka in Delhi in 2005. Recalling this one instance involving talismanic keeper-batter Sangakkara, Pathan revealed how, when he was asked to open in the second innings and had smashed spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan for two sixes, Sangakkara began sledging, calling the Indian team a cheat.
Irfan shone with the bat in the second innings; however, it also involved chatter with Sri Lanka’s keeper, who seemingly crossed a line. Speaking in detail about it perhaps for the first time, Irfan revealed,
“There was a Test match in Delhi. I opened and made 93. After the first innings, when we went to bowl, the box of balls had changed, or something like that happened, and Sri Lankan players were not happy. Sangakkara was the most vocal of all.
“Then, when I went to bat, I had zero idea what had happened; I was asked to open. I hit Muralitharan for two sixes. If he is getting hit for sixes with the new ball, it means you have derailed the opposition's planning a bit.
“Suddenly, Sangakkara started saying, 'You guys cheat, your parents teach you all this and blah blah.' He went personal, and I also answered back. He started it," Pathan said on 'Cheeky Singles'.
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Years later, when the two played for Punjab Kings, then called Kings XI Punjab, in the cash-rich Indian Premier League, the two ended up apologising to each other.
"After the auction, I saw I would be playing with Sangakkara at Punjab. Now I was eating with his family, and I did not know what to do. I went and told him sorry. He also apologised, and then we became good friends. Emotions are high, and you always make mistakes. It matters how maturely you handle things,” Pathan added.
